At first, police thought the killing was gang-related. Gang clashes spiked this winter and caused the city to experience its deadliest year on record.

On Monday, police Lt. Saul Gonzalez said detectives discovered that shortly before shots were fired on Marchant Street at 2:14 p.m., a road rage incident unfolded between the victim's car and the gunman's vehicle outside Watsonville High School. The school was not in session.

Investigators also determined that the 18-year-old man and his nephew did not have affiliations with gangs.

"The initial confrontation resulted in the two groups pursuing each other back and forth with at least one more confrontation in between. The confrontation ended in a deadly encounter. While investigators believe there are gang overtones, the reason for the initial confrontation remains unknown. The victims did not have any gang ties," Gonzalez said.

The victim's name will not be released by officials until his family is notified.

No arrests have been made. Just a few hours later on Sunday, a second man was shot just outside of Watsonville in Pajaro by a drive-by shooter on Gonda Street near San Juan Road. The victim is expected to recover.

The Watsonville Police Department said it will be dedicating extra resources to gang enforcement over the next several days.

After investigators determined a Dec. 19 homicide was gang-motivated, Sgt. Tony Figueroa said police do not have day-to-day control over gang violence.

"We wish we could be able to target the problem. But unfortunately, we have no control on a day-by-day basis on what's going to happen," Figueroa said.

The Dec. 19 killing was also carried out in broad daylight. Ivan Avila, 24, of Santa Cruz, had been walking with a 31-year-old friend near Callahan Park when a white car pulled up and Avila was shot in the chest.